Asymmetric junction engineering for narrow band gap MOSFET

ABSTRACT

A method for forming a semiconductor device. It includes forming fin structures on a substrate, where the fin structure defines source and drain regions. It also includes forming a gate stack in contact with the fin structure, depositing an insulator on the substrate, and applying an etching process to remove portions of the insulator to form a trench to the source region. It also includes implanting a damaged epitaxial material into the trench and to the source regions, and applying a second etching process to remove portions of the insulator to form a trench in the insulator to the drain regions. Finally, the method includes growing an epitaxial junction material over the source and drain regions, and depositing a metal over the substrate.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET), and more specifically, to implanting a damaged epitaxial material to the source region of narrow band gap non-planar MOSFETs in order to minimize the consequences of parasitic bipolar effects due to minority tunneling.

The MOSFET is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The MOSFET has source, drain, and metal oxide gate junctions or electrodes. As the push to increase the density of transistor devices on a chip continues, non-planar MOSFET structures have been developed, including for example fin-type FETs (FinFETs) and gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire FET structures. In FinFETs, the transistor channel is formed as a vertical fin with the gate wrapped over the fin between the source and drain regions such that the gate is on three sides of the channel. As fin widths decrease, however, channel width variations can cause variability and mobility loss in FinFETs. A GAA FET addresses this variability by placing the gate on all four sides of the channel. A GAA nanowire, for example, is essentially a silicon nanowire with a gate around the nanowire circumference. A GAA nanosheet is a three-dimensional silicon nanosheet with a gate formed around all four sides as well as the surface perpendicular to all four sides. The formation of a replacement GAA nanosheet transistor, like the formation of a replacement gate FinFET, generally involves the formation of a dummy gate used for source and drain formation followed by removal of the dummy gate and replacement with a metal gate.

SUMMARY

This disclosure describes a method for forming a semiconductor device. The method includes forming one or more fin structures on a substrate, where the fin structure defines source and drain regions. It also includes forming a gate stack in contact with the fin structure, depositing a contact insulator layer on the substrate, and applying an etching process. The etching process is used to remove portions of the contact insulator layer to form a trench in the insulator that goes to the source region. The method also includes implanting a damaged epitaxial material into the trench and to the source regions, and applying a second etching process to remove portions of the contact insulator layer to form a trench in the insulator to the drain regions. Finally, the method includes growing an epitaxial junction material over the source and drain regions, and depositing a metalizing contact material over the substrate.

This disclosure also describes a semiconductor device. The device includes fin structures and gate, source, and drain regions formed on the substrate. The device also has a contact insulator layer deposited over the substrate, where a first etching process applied to the substrate removes the insulator to create a trench to the source regions. The device also includes a damaged epitaxial material that is deposited into the trench to the source regions, an epitaxial junction material that is grown over the source and drain regions, and a metalizing contact material that is deposited over the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the present invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly defined in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structure that was formed using a fabrication process that incorporated depositing damaged epitaxial materials onto the structure according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2A depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure after forming a fin structure on the insulation layer according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 2A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 3A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after forming a gate stack and dielectric spacer on the substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 3A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 4A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after depositing a contact insulator on the substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 4A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 5A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after etching trenches in the contact insulator layer to the source region on the substrate, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 5A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 6A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after implanting a damaged epitaxial material into the trenches according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 6A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 7A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after etching the contact insulator layer to form trenches to the drain regions and adjacent to the fin structures according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 7A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 8A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after depositing an epitaxial junction material into the trenches to the source and drain regions according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 8A rotated ninety degrees;

FIG. 9A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure after depositing a metalizing contact material layer on the substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 9A; and

FIG. 9C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 9A rotated ninety degrees.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to the related drawings. Alternative embodiments can be devised without departing from the scope of this invention. It is noted that various connections and positional relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent, etc.) are set forth between elements in the following description and in the drawings. These connections and/or positional relationships, unless specified otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the present invention is not intended to be limiting in this respect. Accordingly, a coupling of entities can refer to either a direct or an indirect coupling, and a positional relationship between entities can be a direct or indirect positional relationship. As an example of an indirect positional relationship, references in the present description to forming layer “A” over layer “B” include situations in which one or more intermediate layers (e.g., layer “C”) is between layer “A” and layer “B” as long as the relevant characteristics and functionalities of layer “A” and layer “B” are not substantially changed by the intermediate layer(s).

The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.

Additionally, the term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The terms “one or more” and “one or more” are understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to one, i.e. one, two, three, four, etc. The terms “a plurality” are understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to two, i.e. two, three, four, five, etc. The term “connection” can include an indirect “connection” and a direct “connection”.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment can include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the described structures and methods, as oriented in the drawing figures. The terms “overlying,” “atop,” “on top,” “positioned on” or “positioned atop” mean that a first element, such as a first structure, is present on a second element, such as a second structure, where intervening elements such as an interface structure can be present between the first element and the second element. The term “direct contact” means that a first element, such as a first structure, and a second element, such as a second structure, are connected without any intermediary conducting, insulating or semiconductor layers at the interface of the two elements. It should be noted that the term “selective to,” such as, for example, “a first element selective to a second element,” means that the first element can be etched and the second element can act as an etch stop.

For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to semiconductor device and integrated circuit (IC) fabrication can be described in detail herein. Moreover, the various tasks and process steps described herein can be incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process having additional steps or functionality not described in detail herein. In particular, various steps in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and semiconductor-based ICs are well known and so, in the interest of brevity, many conventional steps will only be mentioned briefly herein or will be omitted entirely without providing the well-known process details.

By way of background, however, a more general description of the semiconductor device fabrication processes that can be utilized in implementing one or more embodiments of the present invention will now be provided. Although specific fabrication operations used in implementing one or more embodiments of the present invention can be individually known, the described combination of operations and/or resulting structures of the present invention are unique. Thus, the unique combination of the operations described in connection with the fabrication of a semiconductor device having a dummy fin removed from within an array of tight pitch fins according to the present invention utilize a variety of individually known physical and chemical processes performed on a semiconductor (e.g., silicon) substrate, some of which are described in the immediately following paragraphs.

In general, the various processes used to form a micro-chip that will be packaged into an IC fall into four general categories, namely, film deposition, removal/etching, semiconductor doping, and patterning/lithography. Deposition is any process that grows, coats, or otherwise transfers a material onto the wafer. Available technologies include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), electrochemical deposition (ECD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and more recently, atomic layer deposition (ALD) among others. Removal/etching is any process that removes material from the wafer. Examples include etch processes (either wet or dry), and chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), and the like. Semiconductor doping is the modification of electrical properties by doping, for example, transistor sources and drains, generally by diffusion and/or by ion implantation. These doping processes are followed by furnace annealing or by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Annealing serves to activate the implanted dopants. Films of both conductors (e.g., poly-silicon, aluminum, copper, etc.) and insulators (e.g., various forms of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, etc.) are used to connect and isolate transistors and their components. Selective doping of various regions of the semiconductor substrate allows the conductivity of the substrate to be changed with the application of voltage. By creating structures of these various components, millions of transistors can be built and wired together to form the complex circuitry of a modern microelectronic device. Semiconductor lithography is the formation of three-dimensional relief images or patterns on the semiconductor substrate for subsequent transfer of the pattern to the substrate. In semiconductor lithography, the patterns are formed by a light sensitive polymer called a photo-resist. To build the complex structures that make up a transistor and the many wires that connect the millions of transistors of a circuit, lithography and etch pattern transfer steps are repeated multiple times. Each pattern being printed on the wafer is aligned to the previously formed patterns and slowly the conductors, insulators and selectively doped regions are built up to form the final device.

Turning now to a description of specific technologies that are relevant to the present invention, as previously noted herein, the MOSFET is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The MOSFET has source, drain, and metal oxide gate junctions or electrodes. The metal gate is electrically insulated from the main semiconductor n-channel or p-channel by a thin layer of insulating material, for example, silicon dioxide or glass, which makes the input resistance of the MOSFET relatively high. The gate voltage controls whether the path from the drain to the source is an open circuit (“off”) or a resistive path (“on”).

N-type field effect transistors (NFET) and p-type field effect transistors (PFET) are two types of complementary MOSFETs. The NFET uses electrons as the current carriers and with n-doped source and drain junctions. The PFET uses holes as the current carriers and with p-doped source and drain junctions.

As the push to increase the density of transistor devices on a chip continues, non-planar MOSFET structures have been developed, including for example fin-type FETs (FinFETs) and gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire FET structures. The FinFET is a double-gate or multiple-gate MOSFET device that mitigates the effects of short channels and reduces drain-induced barrier lowering. In FinFETs, the transistor channel is formed as a vertical fin with the gate wrapped over the fin between the source and drain regions such that the gate is on three sides of the channel. As fin widths decrease, however, channel width variations can cause variability and mobility loss in FinFETs. A GAA FET addresses this variability by placing the gate on all four sides of the channel. A GAA nanowire, for example, is essentially a silicon nanowire with a gate around the nanowire circumference. A GAA nanosheet is a three-dimensional silicon structure with a gate formed around all four sides as well as the surface perpendicular to all four sides. The formation of a replacement GAA nanosheet transistor, like the formation of a replacement gate FinFET, generally involves the formation of a dummy gate used for source and drain formation followed by removal of the dummy gate and replacement with a metal gate.

In contemporary semiconductor device fabrication processes, a large number of semiconductor devices, including for example fin-based FETs (e.g., FinFETs, GAA FETs, etc.), are fabricated in and on a single wafer. The semiconductor fins of these devices introduce on-wafer topography. The semiconductor fins are often formed as an array having a periodicity, or fin pitch, to minimize etch bias due to pattern factor, i.e., the fraction of the area of the semiconductor fins within a unit area. In this case, some of the semiconductor fins need to be removed after formation of the array to provide isolated semiconductor fins or a cluster of semiconductor fins isolated from other clusters of fins. The unwanted semiconductor fins are labeled “dummy fins.”

The drain current of planar and non-planar MOSFETs can increase when a parasitic current path between the source and drain is present. Typically, the parasitic current path runs below the channel region of the device, and occurs when the source and drain regions of the FET extend too close to each other proximate to the channel region. A consequence of the ongoing efforts to manufacture smaller devices (including providing non-planar FET structures) is a condition where undesirable parasitic current occurs more frequently as the physical dimensions of the source and drain shrink in size. Parasitic currents introduce noise into the device and consume power.

In solid-state physics, a band gap is typically an energy range in a solid where no electron states can exist. In other words, a band gap is the energy difference between the top of the material's valence band and the bottom of the material's conduction band. If the valence band is completely full and the conduction band is completely empty, electrons cannot move in the solid. However, if some electrons transfer from the valence band to the conduction band, current can flow. Therefore, the size of the band gap is a major factor in determining the electrical conductivity of a solid. Substances with large band gaps are generally insulators, and substances with smaller band gaps are semiconductors. Substances that are conductors have either very small band gaps or none.

Semiconductor materials can be doped with either electron acceptors to form p+ junctions, or electron donors to form n+ junctions. In some embodiments, NFET device junctions, including the source and drain, are doped to form n+ junction and for PFET the source and drain is doped to form p+ junctions.

In the present detailed description, the phrase “damaged epitaxial material(s)” is used to describe a semiconductor material that has been created to provide a smaller energy difference (in electron volts) between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band in insulators and semiconductors, thus allowing more majority carriers to move. When semiconductor material contains crystal imperfections, such as damage from implants, the crystal imperfections produce energy states in the semiconductor material that can increase leakage in the semiconductor such as between the n and p junctions. This in turn allows for a greater current flow through the material.

Embodiments of the present invention provides a device structure that selectively uses materials that are damaged, doped, or diffused with n+ materials to direct parasitic current flow to a desired junction or electrode, such as the source, where the effects of parasitic currents can be minimized. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the source junction is used as a destination for parasitic currents while the drain junction is unchanged. This can be accomplished by depositing damaged epitaxial material at the source in order to increase current through the source's p-n junction. This has the effect of shunting the majority of parasitic currents through the source junction. In one or more embodiments, unwanted parasitic currents can be shunted through the drain. In that case, the damaged materials are placed at the drain while the source materials are unchanged.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, undesirable parasitic current is addressed by providing relatively lower band gap, also referred to as “leaky”, materials for the source of narrow band gap non-planar FETs. The leaky materials for the source can be fabricated from indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) in varying ratios, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. By selectively depositing varying ratios of InGaAs onto the structure, the designer can direct unwanted parasitic currents to a desired junction in order to minimize the negative effects of these unwanted currents. The fabrication methodologies and resulting structures according to embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below by referring to the accompanying drawings in FIGS. 1-9C.

To better understand the key concepts described in this invention, refer to FIG. 1, which depicts a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structure 150 after the processes of implanting damaged materials in the source regions are completed. These processes are detailed in FIGS. 2A-9C and include depositing materials to form one or more gate 160, source 162, drain 164, and channel 166 regions on a semiconductor substrate. Additionally, the gate, channel, source, and drain regions are labeled in the figures “G”, “C”, “S”, and “D” respectfully. In one or more embodiments, the source, gate, drain, and channel regions are produced in large quantities. In the foregoing discussion, the terms source and sources are interchangeable, as well as channel/channels, drain/drains, and gate/gates. In one or more embodiments, the source 162 is formed from a damaged semiconductor material while the drain 164 material is unchanged.

FIG. 2A depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 after forming fin structures 106 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The structure 100 is formed using an insulation layer 104 that has been deposited on a semiconductor substrate 102 during an intermediate operation of a method of fabricating a semiconductor device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The fabricated semiconductor structure 100, according to one or more embodiments, will be a non-planar FET structure having a so-called gate-all-around (GAA) transistor topology. Suitable materials for the substrate 102 have physical properties that are sufficient to withstand exposure to etch processes needed for later deposition and formation, and the subsequent thermal processing (i.e., time and temperature) associated with deposition and etch processes needed for the formation of fins and source and drain deposits. The substrate 102 can be of any suitable substrate material such as, for example, monocrystalline Si, SiGe, SiC, or semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI). In some embodiments, a top layer of the substrate 102 can be Si, SiGe, Group III-V channel material, or other suitable channel materials. Group III-V channel materials include materials having one or more Group III element and one or more Group V element, such as, for example, one or more of aluminum gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium nitride, aluminum arsenide, aluminum indium arsenide, aluminum nitride, gallium antimonide, gallium aluminum antimonide, gallium arsenide, gallium arsenide antimonide, gallium nitride, indium antimonide, indium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide phosphide, indium gallium nitride, indium nitride, indium phosphide and alloy combinations including one or more of the foregoing materials. The channel can be p-type for PFET devices or n-type for NFET devices. In some embodiments, an insulator or high band gap material 104 such as silicon oxide (SiO₂), indium aluminum arsenide (InAlAs), or indium phosphide (InP) is deposited on top of the substrate 102.

FIG. 2B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 2A rotated ninety degrees. Although four fins are depicted in FIGS. 2B and 2C, more or fewer fins can be provided. For ease of reference, only one of the four fins shown in FIGS. 2B-2C is provided with reference number 106. The fin structure 106 can be made from indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) or silicon germanium (SiGe). In alternative embodiments, other structures can be used in place of a fin structure, including but not limited to a nanowire, nanosheets, or a planar structure. The fin structure 106 can be formed over substrate 102 and insulation layer 104 using conventional semiconductor device fabrication techniques, including but not limited to aspect ratio trapping (ART) techniques and strain relaxed buffer (SRB) techniques.

FIG. 3A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 100 after forming a gate stack 108 on the structure 100 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The gate stack 108 is formed over the insulation layer 104 and the fins 106. Afterwards, a dielectric spacer 110 is deposited on the top and sides of the gate stack 108. The dielectric spacer 110 can be a low-κ (κ=the dielectric constant) dielectric material, which is an improvement over forming the dielectric spacer 110 from a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) dielectric that is vulnerable to tunneling effects as the SiO₂ dielectric is reduced in thickness. The dielectric spacer 110 can include materials made from boron nitride or silicon boron nitride, and can be deposited using atomic layer deposition. Using a low-K material in the dielectric spacer 110 allows for reduction in parasitic capacitance without the associated current leakage effects. The dielectric spacer 110 is also deposited in this same process on the sides of the gate stack 108 and is used to further isolate the gate stack 108 from the source 162 and drain 164 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 3A rotated ninety degrees. While the current scheme shows a gate with a gate dielectric and a gate conductor being used, some embodiments form a dummy gate which can be removed and replaced later in the forming process.

FIG. 4A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 100 after conformally depositing a contact insulator 112 over the structure 100 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The contact insulator 112 can be of any suitable material, such as, for example, an oxide, silicon dioxide, or silicon nitride. The manner of depositing the contact insulator 112 is not meant to be particularly limited. In some embodiments, the contact insulator 112 can be conformally formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), evaporation, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical solution deposition, or other like processes. After conformal deposition, the contact insulator is polished back using CMP to the top level of the dielectric spacer 110. FIG. 4B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 4A rotated ninety degrees.

FIG. 5A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 100 after applying a photo-resist mask and etching the contact insulator 112 down to the source 162 on the structure 100. The etching process creates one or more first trenches 114 in the structure 100 that extend from an upper surface of the dielectric spacer 110 down to the insulator 104. The first trenches 114 define areas that correspond to one or more sources 162 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 5A rotated ninety degrees. In FIG. 5C, the sources 162 is seen by viewing the structure 100 through the first trenches 114 just etched.

FIG. 6A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 100 after creating a damaged epitaxial material 118 into the first trenches 114. The damage layer can be created, for example, by implanting the FIN with heavy atom such as argon (Ar), xenon (Xe), germanium (Ge), or other materials. The damaged epitaxial material 118 will form the source 162 of the finished FET device according to embodiments of the present invention. The damaged epitaxial material 118 can include indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Properties of the damaged epitaxial material can include having an energy level of 5-50 keV, and a dosage rate of 1e13/cm² to 1e15/cm². This will result in a material having a higher leakage rate than the drain material due to damage or defects while having a growth temperature that is too low to anneal all damage. FIG. 6B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 100 shown in FIG. 6A rotated ninety degrees. In a silicon or SiGe channel, the damaged epitaxial material 118 can consist of SiGe where the band gap voltage is lower than found in the channel material.

FIG. 7A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 200 after etching the contact insulator 112 to form one or more second trenches 204 to the drain 164 and adjacent to the fin structures 106 (of FIG. 2A), in a process similar to that described in FIG. 5A, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 7A rotated ninety degrees.

FIG. 8A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 200 after growing or depositing an epitaxial junction material in contact with the source 162 (of FIG. 5A) and drain 206 regions. In this figure, the epitaxial junction material 206 is deposited into the first and second trenches 114 (of FIG. 5A), 204 respectfully, in a process similar to that described in FIG. 6A. The epitaxial junction material 206 can be formed from indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 8B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 8C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 8A rotated ninety degrees. In a silicon or SiGe channel, the epitaxial junction material 206 can consist of SiGe where the band gap voltage is higher than found in the channel material. For PFET devices, the epitaxy layer should be p-doped material to form a source-drain junction. Likewise, for NFET devices, the epitaxy layer should be n-doped material to form a source-drain junction. In some embodiments, the epitaxy material wraps around and diffuses into the FIN.

FIG. 9A depicts a cross-sectional view of the structure 200 after depositing a metalizing contact layer 210 on the structure 200. The metalizing contact layer 210 will cover the source 162 and drain 164 of the structure 200 and provide an electrical contact for later wire installation. In this embodiment, the structure is complete, with the source 162 and drain 164 formed from InGaAs, and a channel 166 between the source 162 and drain 164 formed from InGaAs, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 9B depicts a top-down view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 9C depicts a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure 200 shown in FIG. 9A rotated ninety degrees.

In some embodiments, various functions or acts can take place at a given location and/or in connection with the operation of one or more apparatuses or systems. In some embodiments, a portion of a given function or act can be performed at a first device or location, and the remainder of the function or act can be performed at one or more additional devices or locations.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the form described. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the functionality and operation of possible implementations of systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present invention. In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block can occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession can, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks can sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. The actions can be performed in a differing order or actions can be added, deleted or modified. Also, the term “coupled” describes having a signal path between two elements and does not imply a direct connection between the elements with no intervening elements/connections therebetween. All of these variations are considered a part of the invention.

The terms “about,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and variations thereof, are intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.

While the present invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the present invention is not limited to such described embodiments. Rather, the present invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the present invention can include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising: forming one or more fin structures on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the fin structure defines a source and drain region; forming a gate stack in contact with the fin structure; depositing a contact insulator layer on the substrate; applying a first etching process to remove exposed portions of the contact insulator layer, adjacent to the fin structure, to form a trench in the contact insulator layer that extends to the source region; implanting a damaged epitaxial material into the trench formed by the first etching process and extending to the source region; applying a second etching process to remove exposed portions of the contact insulator layer, adjacent to the fin structure, to form a trench in the contact insulator layer that extends to the drain region; growing an epitaxial junction material over the source and drain regions after the first and second etching processes; depositing a metalizing contact material over the substrate; and planarizing the substrate after depositing the contact insulator layer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fin structure is comprised of indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) or silicon germanium (SiGe).
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the damaged epitaxial material is comprised of silicon (Si), argon (Ar), xenon (Xe), or germanium (Ge).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fin structure is instead a nanowire, a nanosheet, or a planar device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the fin structure is formed by Aspect Ratio Trapping (ART) or Strain Relaxed Buffer (SRB) processes.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the epitaxial junction material is grown, doped, and diffused with n+material for NFET devices and p+material for PFET devices.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the epitaxial junction material possesses higher leakage rates due to defects, physical damage, or doping introduced into the material, and is characterized by having a growth temperature too low to anneal all damage.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench instead extends to the drain region and damaged epitaxial material is injected into the trench and extends to the drain region. 